Las Cruces couple faces felony charges for car chase with baby in tow

LAS CRUCES &GT;&GT; A couple accused of shooting at two men during a car chase through the streets of Las Cruces with their baby boy in the backseat is facing more charges related to the Aug. 6 incident.

A Doña Ana County grand jury indicted Anthony J. Herrera, 26, and his wife Anna Herrera, 29, on several felonies late last week, according to court documents.

Anthony Herrera, who has a previous battery conviction from a 2008 incident in Bernalillo, N.M., is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has been convicted of illegal firearm possession twice, the most recent being in 2010, court documents state.

The Herreras, who live in the 6000 block of Aerosmith Court just outside city limits, remain in custody at the Doña Ana County Detention Center, according to online jail records. They each have a $100,000 bond.

A 19-year-old man told Las Cruces Police Department investigators that he was driving his white Honda Accord on Idaho Avenue the evening of Aug. 6 when he saw the Herreras in a blue Chrysler 200 at a stop sign near Chaparro Street.

The man recognized them, he told police, because Anthony Herrera had threatened to kill him several times in recent weeks, according to a complaint filed in Magistrate Court. The man then fled.

The Herreras, with Anna behind the wheel, gave chase, the complaint states.

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Eventually, the man told police, he turned onto Boutz Road. Accelerating northbound, the man heard gunshots, the complaint states, and saw Anthony Herrera shooting at him from the Chrysler.

The Herreras both admitted to firing at the man in the Honda, according to the complaint — Anna Herrera reportedly said she was "pissed off."

A passenger in the Honda told police that shrapnel from the gunshots knocked a hat off his head.

Neither man in the Honda was injured by the gunshots. Police found eight 9 mm shell casings along Boutz Road between Chaparro and Alamo streets, and Anthony Herrera admitted to firing a Ruger 9 mm handgun, the complaint states.

The couple was charged with child abuse because their 1-year-old son was in the car with them, police allege. Anna Herrera reportedly told investigators she dropped off the child near a grocery store before the firing her weapon.

But Anthony Herrera said after the couple crashed into a fence, he went to the back seat to check on his son.

Then, according to the complaint, the Herreras went to the home of a relative in the 1300 block of Pines Street where they were picked up by another relative she had called.

The Herreras' son was turned over to the custody of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, according to an LCPD news release.